This past week brought a new extreme of exhaustion that finally got the better of me. Thursday night, after pushing 5 am to 11 pm days all week, it all caught up to me in one moment. I was sitting there on the couch, reflecting on the past few weeks and how hard I’ve been trying to work to get to where I want to be in the future. As I thought about how far I’ve come, and how far I still have to go, the tears started rolling down my face.
It’s hard to explain how I felt at that moment. I wasn’t necessarily sad, but rather in awe of the fact that I had been focusing so hard on where I wanted to be, that I was missing the beauty of where I am now.
As an influencer and a life motivator, I was quick to jump on the bandwagon of encouraging people to chase their goals. And I do think that we all need to chase our goals, however big or difficult or far off they may be. But it’s also important to not let the success of those goals determine your happiness. I would catch myself saying, “I’ll be happy when…” Have you ever done that? Have you ever created a goal or a plan that is so big and exciting, that you begin to give up the joy of what’s happening now, to solely focus on what will happen then? I was doing that. And it wasn’t until that quiet moment on the couch that I realized what exactly I was doing.
You see, in-between each of your goals and your future plans, there’s this thing called “life”. And every moment of every day, you are living it with or without reaching those goals. You wouldn’t say, “I’ll begin living when…” So why wait to “be happy when…”. Life isn’t going to wait, it’s going to keep moving forward, and you can either put off truly living until you’ve reached your goals, or you can begin living right now.
That beauty that I mentioned earlier, comes from enjoying the journey as well as the destination. I’m still learning to enjoy my journey. Sure, I’m still working hard to get where I want to be in the future, but I’m also taking the time to enjoy it right now. Those random weekend road trips with friends that I could be working, or those late-night conversations with someone close when I could be sleeping. Even the occasional shopping sprees or spa days, because sometimes enjoying right now means spending a little of that hard-earned cash every now and then.
All this to say, enjoy right now. Because you can’t get to where you’re going, without going through whatever it is that you’re currently going through. I promise you, that if you take that small moment to be still and reflect on your life, you’ll see the opportunities you’ve been given to enjoy where you’re at. After all, life is a road trip that is meant to be enjoyed. There will be stops you must take along the way, and obstacles you must find a way around, but if you keep only looking forward, you’ll miss the beautiful scenery surrounding you. So take those moments to pull over on the side of the road, and admire it all— how far you’ve come, where you’re going to go, and how amazing it is to be exactly where you are right now.
“life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”
—John Lennon—
You know I love you all!
Sincerely,
Adrienne
